photo by: Josie Heimsoth/Journal-World

The Lawrence school district offices building, located at 110 McDonald Dr., is pictured in May 2025.

After nine months without a public comment period, the Lawrence school board will again allow community members to address board members at the end of their regular meetings.

After Bob Byers was appointed board president in July, he expressed an interest in bringing a public comment period back after the school board stopped including it on the agenda in December 2025, as the Journal-World reported. In the past, the board allowed the public to speak near the end of the meeting after board members concluded their discussions.

The previous board president, GR Gordon-Ross, hadn’t given the Journal-World a reason why the board chose to stop hearing public comments at meetings last year. But the decision did follow repeated violations of the board’s commenting rules by a few frequent commenters who, among other things, used foul or obscene language, often directed at board members.

In February 2025, board member Kelly Jones had raised concerns about the atmosphere surrounding public comment. Following a 30-minute standoff with a commenter who refused to follow the rules, Jones floated the idea of temporarily suspending public comment, as the Journal-World reported.

However, on Monday’s meeting agenda, the school board has set aside a general public comment period at the end of its regular business meeting. Even though the board and other governing bodies aren’t required to hear public comment at their meetings, Byers previously said he wanted to bring in-person public comment back, but with a few conditions.

In August, Byers said he wanted to explore the idea of only allowing it on items actually listed on the agenda – not a separate period at the end of the meeting where general comments about district business could be made, like it was before.

But in order to achieve that, Byers said the school district’s public participation policy might need to be changed to allow only for public comments pertaining to agenda items, among other potential changes requested by the board.

At the last board meeting in early September, Byers stepped away from that idea. Byers said after reading the public participation policy and speaking with the school district’s attorneys, he recommended the board follow its existing policy and continue with the board’s historical practices for public comment.

Byers did not specify why the board stopped pursuing the idea of only allowing comments on agenda items at the September meeting.

“Open comment will be moved at the end of the meeting,” Byers said at the meeting earlier this month. “It will be the last thing that we will do … Each speaker will be allotted three minutes of the board’s time. Speakers must sign up in advance. Please be specific as to what you’re wanting to talk to the board about.”

People interested in participating in public comment must email PublicComment@usd497.org by noon on Monday to provide comments in person. According to the agenda, information provided will make it possible for district staff to follow up as necessary.

IN OTHER BUSINESS, BOARD MEMBERS WILL:

• Hear a presentation from the district’s Facilities and Operations staff about projects completed during the summer of 2026. Staff will also provide a five-year overview of completed projects and future needs.

• Consider a memorandum of understanding between the Lawrence Police Department and the Lawrence school district for its school resource officers, or SROs. The police department has offered the SRO program at no cost to the school district since 2001. The program consists of officers assigned to high schools and middle schools who provide education, intervention, counseling, deterrence and law enforcement. The MOU will be in place from Aug. 1, 2026, through May 31, 2027.

• Consider approving a bid from Philips Site Work Inc. in the amount of $147,670 to perform asphalt and concrete maintenance at Kennedy Early Childhood, Lawrence High and Southwest Middle Schools. The project’s total budget totals $177,270, including a 10% contingency.

• Hold an executive session to discuss matters which would be deemed privileged in the attorney-client relationship under the Kansas Open Meetings Act.

The Lawrence school board meets at 6 p.m. Monday at the district offices, 110 McDonald Drive. The meeting will also be available via the school district’s YouTube channel.